Hawaiian beer comes ashore in Ohio market

Hawaii's Kona Brewing Co. will distribute its craft beers in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Missouri starting next month, according to the Columbus Business Journal. The CBC cites Pacific Business Journal reports and indicates the brewery, which is part of the Craft Brew Alliance, will offer its Longboard Island Lager, Big Wave Golden Ale, Fire Rock Pale Ale, and Aloha Series seasonal brews. "This is a bit of uncharted territory for us, but we are genuinely stoked to be bringing Liquid Aloha to the many craft beer lovers in our country's interior," Kona Brewing President Mattson Davis said in a statement. Kona joins a crowded beer market in Ohio and locally, where the Dayton region is home to the Miller brewery in Trenton that is the largest brewery in the state. Last fall, Pennsyvlania brewer D.G. Yuengling & Son began selling its Yeungling beer across Dayton, and earlier this year, Budweiser launched its latest brand to the Dayton market with Bud Light Platinum. Also, a group of about 32 residents of St. Anne’s Hill in Dayton bought a building at 1600 E. Fifth St., fixed it up, and helped launch Fifth Street Co-Op Inc., a member-owned brewery and restaurant that will be the first of its kind in Ohio and only the second in the nation.